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Some Questions a Christian sent me about Evolution, Have any of you seen these before?

Posted on: September 4, 2007 - 6:48pm

Pathofreason

Posts: 320

Joined: 2006-12-23

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Some Questions a Christian sent me about Evolution, Have any of you seen these before?

Has anyone seen these arguments before?

Question 1: Explain fully the reasons a human being can fail a polygraph test. And claiming humans are taught not to lie is not adequate. If that characteristic evolved, explain how and why.

Question 2: Explain fully the reasons a newborn infant can have a temper tantrum. I’m not talking about a fear reaction, or crying to be fed. I’m talking about a clear display of anger.

Question 3: Explain fully the reasons radiometric dating is relied upon, given the clear evidence that it is completely dependant on a constant and non-changing environment throughout all of history, while the same ‘scientists’ tell us of catastrophic events in earth’s past which altered the environment, such as the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Question 1: Explain fully the reasons a human being can fail a polygraph test. And claiming humans are taught not to lie is not adequate. If that characteristic evolved, explain how and why.

My first question to the theist would be what this has to do with evolution.

Is he asking what evolutionary developments allowed us to learn to lie?

Or is he asking why our bodies have physical responses to stress when we are lying?

Quote:

Question 2: Explain fully the reasons a newborn infant can have a temper tantrum. I’m not talking about a fear reaction, or crying to be fed. I’m talking about a clear display of anger.

Again, I'm not really sure what this question is asking. Anger is generated in the amygdala. Reactions from the amygdala are faster than those of the cortex, and served our ancestors in the same way that fight or flight reactions did. They happen before conscious thought, and provide an evolutionary advantage over those creatures that must take the time to deduce a threat.

As for infants, I'm not sure when newborns develop the capacity for anger. Someone else can address that. I don't really understand why this theist would think that a creature who developed the capacity for anger earlier than its peers would be at a disadvantage.

Quote:

Question 3: Explain fully the reasons radiometric dating is relied upon, given the clear evidence that it is completely dependant on a constant and non-changing environment throughout all of history, while the same ‘scientists’ tell us of catastrophic events in earth’s past which altered the environment, such as the one that killed the dinosaurs.

I'll let someone else explain this guy's misconceptions about how radiometric dating works, but an interesting little tidbit you can think about until someone else jumps in: We have rocks that have not been subject to plate tectonics or catastrophic events. We visited the moon!

Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin

Question 1: Explain fully the reasons a human being can fail a polygraph test. And claiming humans are taught not to lie is not adequate. If that characteristic evolved, explain how and why.

I also am not quite sure what this has to do with evolution. My uneducated answer is that a polygraph test is a machine and humans are not machines. We have a very, very long way to go in understanding how the brain works.

Pathofreason wrote:

Question 2: Explain fully the reasons a newborn infant can have a temper tantrum. I’m not talking about a fear reaction, or crying to be fed. I’m talking about a clear display of anger.

Can this person provide any proof/documentation of a newborn having a temper tantrum? I honestly have never heard of such a thing.

Pathofreason wrote:

Question 3: Explain fully the reasons radiometric dating is relied upon, given the clear evidence that it is completely dependant on a constant and non-changing environment throughout all of history, while the same ‘scientists’ tell us of catastrophic events in earth’s past which altered the environment, such as the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Along with Hamby, I will have to defer to the scientifically educated members on this site, however, I would also like to see where this person is getting his/her information to formulate these questions.

To me, the big tell is the request to "explain fully." Are they assuming that if we can't explain it, then goddidit?

Perhaps most humans have stress reactions to lying because groups of people who were too good at lying didn't have very strong civilizations and died off. (There's an evolutionary explanation for you.)

Perhaps the child is attempting to utilize old behavior (crying) to get their way? Humans are lazy and will stick to what works.

Perhaps that person has a poor understanding of how radiometric dating works. Certain isotopes are created in certain conditions. Many of the radioisotopes used were only created in conditions at the start of the solar system. The shorter term ones (carbon in particular) that are used are created all the time and only absorbed into a living animal when it is alive. Certain periods may have higher concentrations of these isotopes and we take that into account. If we know that x years ago, the amount of C-14 in the atmosphere was higher than it was before and after, then we take that into account if a sample is showing an age that takes it into that range of increased volume.

Note in question one they mention humans being taught not to lie. This is probably a "Where do morals come from?" question. Nothing special there.I can't think of any reason for question two, but I'm sure I'll go through the usual disbelief, astonishment and anger associated with finding out.Question three is for a geologist or archeologist, which I am not.

This person is a total psycho, Rook and Sapient know who I am talking about, I asked a question about her previously. She keeps sending me questions which I refuse to answer. I decided to post some of the newest ones. She was a person I debated in a chat room, She refuses to ever admit she is wrong so I gave up. She claims that Rook and Sapient won't let her on the show because they are afraid of her(Which is totally laughable) I refuted an argument she had on the discovery of Noahs ark from Scientific and even other Christian sources claiming it was a fraud but she wouldn't listen. No matter what I threw at her she claimed it was was the direct work of the devil. So I basically decided she isn't worth my time.